Men Who Don’t Exercise Have Higher Risk Of Gum Disease

Now that the holidays and college football bowl season have nearly come to an end, most men may start to find it difficult to rationalize spending long hours on the couch during nights and weekends. While your female dentist in Coos Bay, Dr. Lori Lemire, understands that the winter months don’t readily lend themselves to spending much time outdoors, spending too much time laying around the house can greatly increase a man’s risk of developing several long-term health problems.

In addition to increased weight gain and higher risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes, maintaining an inactive lifestyle can also increase a man’s risk of gum disease, reports a new study.

According to researchers from Hannover Medical School, middle-aged men who engaged in little to no daily exercise have a higher risk of developing gum disease when compared to peers who engaged in regular exercise.

Researchers found that moderate to severe forms of gum disease were linked to low levels of exercise in men between the ages of 45 to 65 that worked in office environments.

A Surprising Connection

As part of the study, researchers examined 72 healthy men who did not belong to a gym, play any organized sports and worked predominantly while sitting. Participants involved in the study had the health of their gums examined and were assessed to determine how much regular exercise they received.

Researchers discovered that the higher a man’s average age and the lower his average amount of daily physical exercise became, the more likely he was to suffer from either moderate or severe gum disease.

While most people suffer from some form of gum disease – studies from the American Dental Association have found that nearly 70 percent of all adults in the U.S. will suffer from the disease at one point in their lives – the progress of the disease can be slowed to the point where most people can retain their permanent teeth for a lifetime. Severe gum disease – a condition known as periodontal disease – ranks as the leading cause of adult tooth loss.

Healthy Lifestyle The Key

The results of this study confirm early findings that linked regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle with a lower risk of gum disease, up to 40 percent. While most people tend to view their mouth and body separately, an overwhelming amount of research in recent years has drawn a clear cause and effect relationship between an individual’s oral health and their overall health.

Staying healthy means adopting a daily routine that includes brushing twice a day, cutting down on foods and drinks that contain high levels of sugar and scheduling regular dental appointments. Combining these types of habits together with eating a healthier diet full of rich fruits and vegetables and increasing the amount of daily exercise an individual receives can go a long way toward ensuring a lifetime of not only healthy teeth and gums, but a healthier body as well.